On Top of PR with Jason Mudd

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In this solocast, On Top of PR host Jason Mudd explains what SEO teams need to know about earned media and how SEO and PR can work together to earn more AI citations.
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Five things you’ll learn from this episode:
1. Why about 84% of AI citations come from earned media and only about 15% from your own website
2. How SEO and PR can divide the work based on the questions people ask AI
3. Why writing press releases for AI agents is a weak strategy
4. Four steps to turn your announcement into news reporters cover
5. How to set expectations with your CMO for time, control, and measurement
 
Quotables 
"Collaborate with public relations. Not instead of SEO. With SEO." — @jasonmudd9
"Search needs public relations more than ever. Public relations needs search too." — @jasonmudd9
"You build the foundation. We earn the third-party proof." — @jasonmudd9
"You should be writing for journalists, not for AI agents." — @jasonmudd9
"Stop asking reporters to promote your company. Start giving them a reason to include you in their news stories." — @jasonmudd9
"Reporters don't promote companies. They tell stories." — @jasonmudd9
If you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to share it with a colleague or friend. You can also support us by leaving us a quick podcast review.

Jason’s contact info and resources:
Jason Mudd on X
Jason Mudd on LinkedIn
Muck Rack: What Is AI Reading? (October 2026 report)
Axia Public Relations resources
Request a free consultation with Axia Public Relations
Prioritizing PR over advertising with Laura Ries

Additional resources:
Why PR is the new SEO
Why does AI skip your website and cite the news instead?
Is ChatGPT reading your blog?
Listen to more episodes of the On Top of PR with Jason Mudd podcast
Find out more about Axia Public Relations

If you like this episode, you're going to love this:
AI and data-driven PR with Muck Rack's Matt Dzugan
Earned media-first PR in the AI era
The best argument for PR? Surprisingly, it's AI

Recorded: Oct. 31, 2026
Support the show
On Top of PR is produced by Axia Public Relations, named by Forbes as one of America’s Best PR Agencies. Axia is an expert PR firm for national brands.
On Top of PR is sponsored by ReviewMaxer, the platform for monitoring, improving, and promoting online customer reviews.

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In this episode, Shelley Spector, founder and CEO of the Museum of Public Relations, joins host Jason Mudd to share what PR pioneers can still teach today’s communicators.
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Meet our guest:
Our guest is Shelley Spector, founder and CEO of the Museum of Public Relations. Located in New York, the museum houses more than 5,100 artifacts that chronicle PR history. Its AI-powered personas let you talk with PR pioneers in their own voices.

Five things you’ll learn from this episode:
1. What public relations originally meant and why the definition still matters
2. Why every strong PR program starts with research on your publics
3. How Ivy Lee, Edward Bernays, and Arthur Page shaped the PR profession
4. Why foundational PR principles get lost in the social media and AI era
5. How AI personas of PR pioneers help you brainstorm big ideas, get crisis advice, and pressure-test campaigns
 
Quotables
"The original usage is creating good relationships with all your publics." — Shelley Spector
"A very good PR program always starts with doing research." — Shelley Spector
"In my experience, clients want earned media. Clients want good, old-fashioned media relations." — Shelley Spector
“Instead of jumping to Instagram or TikTok, ask: What does the research say? What’s the strategy? What do we want for the objectives?” —  Shelley Spector
“It’s time we put relationships back in public relations.” — Jason Mudd

If you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to share it with a colleague or friend. You may also support us through Buy Me a Coffee or by leaving us a quick podcast review.

More about Shelley Spector
Shelley Spector is the founder and CEO of the Museum of Public Relations, the world's only museum dedicated to the global PR and communication profession. Since its 1997 founding in New York, the museum has built a collection of more than 5,100 artifacts that chronicle the history of PR. Visitors can now meet the world's only AI-powered personas of PR pioneers Edward Bernays, Arthur W. Page, Ivy Lee, and Walter Lippmann. The museum built each persona exclusively from the pioneer's own writings and interviews, so you hear each one in their own voice and personality.

Guest’s contact info and resources:
Shelley Spector on LinkedIn
Museum of Public Relations website
Ask Eddie: Talk with the AI persona of Edward Bernays
Plan your visit to the Museum of Public Relations
Book: Always Live Better Than Your Clients

Additional resources:
Blog Post: What should I know about media relations and earned media coverage before hiring a PR firm?
Blog Post: Question-based crisis communication: What leaders miss online
Blog Post: How to develop buyer personas and avatars

If you like this episode, you're going to love these episodes:
Leveraging market insights to shape PR strategy
What you should know about earning media coverage
One brand, four generations: Why trust doesn't transfer

Recorded: Oct. 13, 2026
Support the show
On Top of PR is produced by Axia Public Relations, named by Forbes as one of America’s Best PR Agencies. Axia is an expert PR firm for national brands.
On Top of PR is sponsored by ReviewMaxer, the platform for monitoring, improving, and promoting online customer reviews.

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In this episode, Mari Considine, chief brand and marketing officer at Acenda Integrated Health, joins host Jason Mudd to discuss how to reach Gen Z, millennials, Gen X, and baby boomers with one brand promise. 
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Meet our guest:
Our guest is Mari Considine, chief brand and marketing officer at Acenda Integrated Health. Mari brings more than 25 years of executive leadership experience connecting brand storytelling with business strategy, especially in healthcare. She is a national speaker, an adjunct professor, and a PRSA ICON 2026 speaker on reaching four generations of patients.

Five things you’ll learn from this episode:
1. How to adapt your tone without changing your core message
2. Why trust doesn’t transfer across generations and how to choose the right messengers
3. Where patients now look for healthcare information
4. How to match the right message, messenger, and medium
5. How to adapt one brand promise to each generation without fragmenting your brand

Quotables
 “Trust is the thing that is less transferable than other things.” — Mari Considine
“It's not about being everything to everyone, where your target audience is everyone. That's the nightmare scenario.” — Mari Considine
“If we're not on social media or we're not driving that audience to talk about us, then we're pretty much invisible.” — Mari Considine
“We're promoting the same product and the same service, and we're going to use the same core messaging. We're just going to tweak how we tell the story a little bit and where we're going to appear.” — Mari Considine
“People are using AI even when they either don't want to or don't realize they are.” — Jason Mudd

If you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to share it with a colleague or friend. You may also support us by leaving us a quick podcast review.

Guest’s contact info and resources:
Mari Considine on LinkedIn
Acenda Integrated Health website
PRSA ICON 2026

Additional Resources:
Earned media: The future of PR in the age of AI search
Why does AI skip your website and cite the news instead?
How earned media gets AI to remember your brand

If you like this episode, you’re going to love these episodes:
Behavioral science secrets behind top brands
Ageism in the workplace: Hiring bias, careers, and the future of work
The best argument for PR? Surprisingly, it's AI

Recorded: Oct. 8, 2026
Support the show
On Top of PR is produced by Axia Public Relations, named by Forbes as one of America’s Best PR Agencies. Axia is an expert PR firm for national brands.
On Top of PR is sponsored by ReviewMaxer, the platform for monitoring, improving, and promoting online customer reviews.

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In this episode, former Goldman Sachs partner Mike Ryan, CEO and co-founder of Bullet Point Network, joins host Jason Mudd to discuss the trust problem at the heart of AI, why trust is now the biggest barrier to enterprise AI adoption, and how you can keep human judgment in control of AI output.
Tune in to learn more!

Meet our guest:
Our guest is Mike Ryan, the CEO and co-founder of Bullet Point Network, an AI-driven investment platform. Mike is a former Goldman Sachs partner and global co-head of equities. He also served on the Harvard endowment’s investment committee.

Five things you’ll learn from this episode:
1. Why trust, not capability, is now the biggest barrier to enterprise AI adoption
2. How AI-enabled advisory support pairs speed with human judgment and quality control
3. Why off-the-shelf AI isn’t built for high-stakes communication
4. How AI can reduce the constant rebuild of senior communication
5. The 20-60-20 strategy for avoiding AI slop
 
Quotables
“If you can’t trust the information you’re getting, you can’t rely on it.” — Mike Ryan
“AI is not going to take the job of most smart people, but a person using AI better than you might take your job.” — Mike Ryan
“Just because you can produce it fast doesn’t mean you want it or want to distribute it.” — Mike Ryan
“You don’t want AI to take you fast in the wrong direction.” — Mike Ryan
“If you use AI the same way, you can elevate your thinking and your mindfulness about the organization and think more as a strategist.” — Jason Mudd

If you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to share it with a colleague or friend. You can also support us by leaving us a quick podcast review.

More about Mike Ryan
Mike Ryan is CEO and co-founder of Bullet Point Network, an AI-driven investment platform built on an "AI + 1" philosophy that combines AI with human expertise to speed investment decisions. A former Goldman Sachs partner and global co-head of equities, and a former member of the Harvard endowment's investment committee, Mike brings more than 20 years of experience in investing, leadership, and advisory work. He serves as an adviser and board member for companies and nonprofits, with a personal focus on advancing education and economic opportunity.

Guest’s contact info and resources:
Mike Ryan on LinkedIn
@mikeryanbpn on X
Bullet Point Network website

Additional Resources:
Fighting to be trustworthy to AI and humans
Reputation management for AI search: monitoring and response framework
7 responsible principles to guide the use of AI in public relations

If you like this episode, you're going to love these episodes:
The PR playbook for getting recommended by AI with Unusual
AI and PR with Microsoft’s CCO Frank Shaw
The future of PR in the age of AI with Agility PR
Support the show
On Top of PR is produced by Axia Public Relations, named by Forbes as one of America’s Best PR Agencies. Axia is an expert PR firm for national brands.
On Top of PR is sponsored by ReviewMaxer, the platform for monitoring, improving, and promoting online customer reviews.

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In this episode, Slava Balykov joins host Jason Mudd to discuss how you can assess your brand's public relations readiness before a crisis or AI tool exposes your gaps. Slava shares his five-step framework, explains how to respond when AI gets your brand wrong, and reveals what executives really want from PR reporting.
Tune in to learn more!

Five things you’ll learn from this episode:
How to assess your brand's PR readiness in the AI era
Five steps to PR readiness
Why you should understand your information environment before investing in AI optimization
How to check what AI says about your organization and what to do when it’s wrong
What executives want from PR reporting and why coverage volume rarely delivers it 
Quotables
"Before optimizing anything, organizations need to understand the information environment that already exists around them." — Slava Balykov
"Critical doesn't mean incorrect." — Slava Balykov
"Treat readiness as an ongoing diagnostic, not a one-off exercise." — Slava Balykov
"Quality is much more important than quantity." — Slava Balykov
"Measuring impressions or the number of appearances feels like what people call vanity metrics, as opposed to true business impact." — Jason Mudd
If you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment to share it with a colleague or friend. You may also support us through Buy Me a Coffee or by leaving us a quick podcast review.

Guest’s contact info and resources:
Slava Balykov on LinkedIn
Slava's five steps to PR readiness in the AI era:Establish your baseline. 
Understand what information about your organization is currently discoverable and identify important gaps, contradictions, or outdated information.
Review owned information. 
Make sure your website, corporate pages, leadership profiles, and other controlled touchpoints clearly and accurately explain who you are and what you do.
Look beyond owned channels. 
Examine credible third-party sources, including media, industry publications, and other independent references, to understand the wider information environment around your organization.
Diagnose the gaps. 
Compare owned and external information. Investigate where they materially differ and determine whether the issue is outdated information, factual inconsistency, legitimate criticism, or a broader positioning gap.
Monitor over time. 
Information environments continually change. Regularly review important sources and AI-generated answers to identify new gaps and keep your communications foundation current.

Additional Resources:
Reputation management for AI search: Monitoring and response framework
Rethinking reputation management in public relations for the AI era
AI search is the new front page
How do you measure PR? A guide to meaningful metrics
Listen to more episodes of the On Top of PR with Jason Mudd podcast.
Find out more about Axia Public Relations.

If you like this episode, you're going to love this:
AI and PR with Microsoft's CCO Frank Shaw
The PR playbook for getting recommended by AI with Unusual
How to prepare for any communication crisis with Tom Ciuba
Crisis lessons learned from Southwest Airlines

Recorded: September 2026
Support the show
On Top of PR is produced by Axia Public Relations, named by Forbes as one of America’s Best PR Agencies. Axia is an expert PR firm for national brands.
On Top of PR is sponsored by ReviewMaxer, the platform for monitoring, improving, and promoting online customer reviews.